Welcome to another guide in the “How to Not Suck” series, this time focusing on Captain Phasma, a controversial and often overlooked addition to the villain lineup in Star Wars Battlefront 2. While she’s far from a top-tier hero, with the right tactics and knowledge, you can get a surprising amount of value out of her. Here’s how.

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Basics: Health, Movement, and Mobility

Phasma begins with 700 health, which can be temporarily boosted to 900 using her Survivor ability. That’s a solid mid-tier health pool for a dark side villain. Her movement, however, is sluggish — she’s one of the slowest heroes in the game and has no mobility-enhancing abilities like Maul or Boba Fett. She can jump and roll like other infantry units, but her dodge cooldown is longer and she’s highly vulnerable when isolated.

This becomes a key limitation in Heroes vs Villains (HvV) where fast escapes are often the difference between life and death. Managing your positioning and rolls carefully is crucial.

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Blaster Breakdown: F-11D Rifle

Phasma’s primary weapon, the F-11D blaster rifle, is arguably the weakest hero weapon in the game. It has low damage, a mediocre fire rate, and wild initial spread. But if you learn its mechanics, you can make it functional:

• Dual Zoom: The rifle has a dual-zoom scope, extending your threat range. This is useful for long-range poke damage.
• Accuracy Ramping: The blaster becomes more accurate the longer you hold down the trigger. Unfortunately, it also overheats fast — meaning you only get a brief moment of maximum efficiency before cooling is necessary.

Avoid burst firing; instead, hold the trigger and aim for sustained engagements. Know when to disengage to let the rifle cool and restart the accuracy ramp.

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Ability Overview

1. Survivor

This ability gives Phasma a temporary +200 health. It’s strictly self-serving — unlike Yoda’s Presence or Finn’s Big Deal, it doesn’t affect allies. Use Survivor before entering fights, not during. The activation locks you out of shooting, and the delay can be fatal.

Pair with star cards like Not Hard Enough for damage resistance while Survivor is active, and Safety First for a larger health boost.

2. Staff Strikes

A three-part melee combo with the last hit dealing the most damage. The animation is slow, locks you in place, and leaves you vulnerable. Even if you hit all three strikes, the damage is unimpressive — often not even killing regular troopers.

Verdict: Do not use this ability unless it’s against a stunned or immobilized enemy — and even then, it’s risky.

3. First Order Sentry Droid

This is Phasma’s signature move — a turret that stuns and shoots enemies within range. It’s incredibly tanky and effective at locking down small areas. However, it’s very situational.

In organized play or objective defense (e.g. Galactic Assault choke points), the droid is deadly. In HvV with randoms? Good luck getting your team to camp near it. Most players run off solo, leaving your droid underused.

Tip: Drop it behind you if being chased or use it to guard a retreat or revive spot.

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Star Card Loadouts

Best General Loadout (All Modes):

• Easy Shots: Killing an enemy reduces blaster heat. Helps manage the weapon’s accuracy ramp and overheating.
• Not Hard Enough: Up to 50% damage reduction during Survivor — effectively doubling the extra health.
• Safety First: Increases the actual health given by Survivor.

HvV Variant:

Replace Easy Shots with The More The Better — this increases how fast her droid shocks nearby enemies, which is more important than blaster heat in hero fights.

Avoid any star cards related to Staff Strikes. They’re a trap.

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Strategic Assessment

Let’s be honest: Phasma is low-tier. Her blaster is underwhelming, her staff is practically useless, and her droid — while powerful — depends heavily on team coordination and map control.

That said, she does have her uses:

• Galactic Assault: Use her turret to hold objectives or support pushes. Stay behind cover, drop your droid, activate Survivor, and take calculated shots.
• HvV (with a team): If your team sticks together, she can lock down an area with her droid. The stun can swing fights.

But when compared to Bossk, Palpatine, or even Iden — other villains with ranged playstyles — she’s clearly the weaker option.

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Final Verdict

Can you do well with Phasma? Yes, if you play smart. But you’ll always feel like you’re working harder than you should be. Most of the time, you’ll wish you picked someone else.

Still, if you’re completing challenges or just want a change of pace, she can be fun in the right hands.